MÄNI'S BAKERY CAFÉ

07.30.06

Balanced Living 1.6: What Do You Do For A Living

What do you do for a living?  Actually, I don’t really need to know.  But I will say this, a lot of people do want to know.  And alot of the time, it’s almost the first thing that people ask of us.  But what do you really do for a living?

I guess what I am really saying is, what do you do to stay alive, to stay excited, and to bring passion into your life?

I am actually looking for some feedback here.  What I am interested in, is that those who read this can actually share something they do in their own lives that keeps the juice flowing.  The intention is this: there are so many amazing people in the world who do really interesting things, and especially in the world of Mani’s, so let’s share that incredible information and pass it on. 

Just as a little background, I was thinking about this idea with our Graphic Designer over dinner.  We thought, how awesome would it be for people to share these things, especially if it brings new opportunities into our lives? 

And moreover, we are committed that people get the most out of life.  And what better way than to be involved, and at the same time share those experiences, and bring satisfaction and joy to someone else.  I guess most good things come back full circle, so that’s nice too!  And of course, this is one of the most important parts of living a balanced life: PLAYING.

What do I do to stay alive?  I’ll tell you two things: I go to as many classical music concerts at Gehry’s Disney Hall as I can (by buying the $20 seats behind the orchestra), and I also go to Free after Five, at LACMA, where Target picks up the tab everyday the museum is open, after 5PM till closing. 

So, if you want to pass on some experiences, share something you do to stay alive by commenting to this post. 

07.28.06

Why Willpower Won't Work!

The biggest mistake we can make is to set a goal and try to use willpower alone to achieve or accomplish this goal.  For many years, seminar leaders, experts and coaches have been teaching us to set goals and take action toward those goals everyday. Great concept, the problem is it doesn’t work.

Our subconscious mind, which controls our habits, is actually stronger than our willpower. However, most people are using willpower to create new habits, which takes a lot of energy, a lot of discipline and a lot of focus, and goes against many years of programming. The problem with this is you’re not in the habit of that new habit. Willpower is like a light switch. Imagine walking into a dark room, you flip the light switch on, but it has a spring that automatically turns the light off. In order to keep the light on, you would have to hold that light switch on. Your willpower is the same way, it’s only on when you turn it on and, for most people, that’s a minute or two a day. Most of the day, we do the same thing over and over and, therefore, have the same habits everyday.

The new way to set and achieve goals effortlessly is to delegate your success to your environments. Here’s the catch. When I say environments, most people think of nature, plants, etc. or their physical location. These are types of environments but most people are unaware there are actually 9 different environments controlling our success. These 9 environments are conditioning us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to be Happy Healthy and Wealthy or to be Unhappy, Sick and Broke. Therefore, if you become aware of the 9 environments and learn how to change the environments to pull you into your goals instead of using willpower and force to push you toward your goals, life would become simpler and goals would become easier to accomplish.

Here at Mäni’s, our mission is to provide building blocks in the lives of our employees, customers, and not yet customers, in living a life balanced in eating, drinking, exercising, working, and playing.  So, how is your eating, drinking, exercising, working, and playing going?  Is it balanced?  If there are changes that you would like to make?  If so, what can you change in your environments to delegate your success to your environments?  For example, if you want to exercise more, hire an awesome fitness trainer like Garrett Cooke.  (He is the amazing fitness trainer and nutritionist who helped us design the 400 calorie menu).  Do you want to play more?  Think about who are the people you spend most of your time with.  Do they like to play?  Probably not!  Who do you know that does like to play?  Stop reading this and call them right now… How about the information you surround yourself with?  Is it supportive and uplifting?  A woman I was coaching couldn’t believe the change in her energy level when she limited the amount of news intake in her life. 

This blog is a part of your environment.  Use it to support the change you want to make.  Write a comment about the change you are going to make in your environment.  Then come back later and update the blog with your progress. 

07.28.06

Soups for July 31 thru August 13

Be sure to ask about our cold soups!!!

Monday - Chicken Noodle
Chicken Stock, Chicken Breast, Onions, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Chives, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Egg Noodles.

Tuesday - Cream of Mushrooms ( NEW )
Vegetable Stock, Garlic, Onions, Celery, Shitake Mushrooms, White Mushrooms, Cashew Cream, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Tamari.

Wednesday - Creamy Cauliflower & Asparagus Soup ( NEW )
Vegetable Stock, Leeks, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Sea Salt, Lemon, Ground Sage, Ground Nutmeg, Black Pepper, Cashew Cream.

Thursday - Zucchini & Spinach Bisque
Vegetable Stock, Celery, Onions, Zucchini, Spinach, Garlic, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Cashew Cream.

Friday - Chunky Vegetable W/Tofu ( NEW )
Vegetable Stock, Onions, Carrots, Celery, Zucchini, Spinach, Tomatoes, Yellow Corn, Green Cabbage, Tofu, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Sea Salt, Garlic, Tamari.

Saturday - Cream of Asparagus
Vegetable Stock, Onions, Celery, Potatoes, Asparagus, Spinach, Cashew Cream, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Tamari.

Sunday - Tomato Lentil
Vegetable Stock, Green Lentils, Cilantro, Celery, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes, Garlic, Canola Oil, Sea, Salt, Black Pepper.

07.26.06

'Retro' in Baked Goods?

I recently heard about a bakery that was offering ‘retro’ desserts.  Desserts just like we had when we were a kid.  Humm, I started thinking about that.  Is that a good thing?  Sure we have fond memories of cakes like Mom made, but what about all those ‘retro’ ingredients? 

I guess one reason why I’m in the bakery business is that I always had a fascination of baking.  But I remember all that shortening that went into just about everything my Mom made.  Afterall the shortening made the smooth textures.  Mixed with cups of white processed sugar, and all purpose white bleached flour, it was a treat for a kid.  Especially for kids and Moms who didn’t know any better.

But today we have the advantage of knowing what is better.  Today we have knowledge of what we’re putting in our bodies.  Today we have organic alternatives.  And we have ingredients that retain more of their original nutritional value.

So the question I have is… Do we really want to choose ‘retro’ in food and baked goods?  Or is this something we can recall as fond memories but not one we really need in 2006?

07.25.06

Weight Management Lesson #1 - Part 3

Now that you possess both your daily caloric expenditure and your daily caloric consumption, the last step in Lesson #1 is pretty elementary.  You have to compare the two numbers that you have calculated to one another, and this will show you why you have been gaining, losing, or maintaining your weight. 

Possible scenarios:
1. When daily caloric consumption exceeds your daily caloric expenditure your bodyweight will increase
2. When daily caloric consumption equals your daily caloric expenditure your bodyweight will remain the same
3. When daily caloric consumption is less than your daily caloric expenditure your bodyweight will decrease

When we wrap up Weight Management Lesson #1, in Part 4, I will show you how you can manipulate your daily caloric expenditure and consumption to effectively work towards your goal bodyweight.

07.25.06

New Training Moves To Shadow Training

Kit, Gerry, Olivian, Avery, Shameka, Devin, Jordan

Customers have a treat in store for them.  Not the kind of treat we usually have, but a treat of wonderful new team members, who will start shadowing on Tuesday, July 25, 2006. 

So stop by and introduce yourself to one of our newly trained Mäniacs.  We’re really excited to have all these wonderful people join the Mäni’s team.

07.24.06

Balanced Living 1.5: Elevate Your Life

This Sunday evening I attended the 2nd Elevate Film Festival.  It’s starts out like this, definition: “To raise to a higher moral or intellectual level, to lift up”.  Fourteen directors, and hundreds of artists, activists, musicians and more, spent just 48 hours, starting Friday morning, to make 14 music videos, narratives and documentaries, by Sunday Morning.

I was extremely inspired by this amazing group of people, which included Lilakoi Moon (Lisa Bonet - Denise Huxtable on the Cosby Show, Enemy of the State), Daryl Hannah, comedian Michael Colyer, and so many other passionate people. 

Lilakoi Moon directed her first documentary, a film called “Waking Compton”.  It’s about a woman who is committed to bringing love to Compton.  Her honesty, and passion for life shine through when she hugs a young man, in a powerful embrace that lasts for what seems like an eternity.  When they pull apart, the young man that she described as being troubled, reached back to hug her more. 

What I got from this experience is huge, and is a recurring theme in my life, and the life of Mäni’s: Community.  All of the films and videos were based on the principal of bringing a community of people to a higher level of consciousness.  For example, elevating the consciousness of the communities of people who see the film “Waking Compton”, as well as elevating the consciousness of those who were somehow involved in the film.  In other words, films that inspire us to arrive at a higher level of relatedness and love. 

For about five hours, I was part of a new community of people who were so passionate about being alive, and participating in something that is really making a difference in the world.  And better, being connected to people who are actively making a difference.

At the end of the evening, they asked us to participate in sharing something that we are committed to making a difference in.  It allowed me to make a connection to something I am passionate about, and make a pledge to do something in that area and make a difference. 

I wrote this: I pledge to make a difference in the way that my expanding community balances their lives in eating, drinking, exercising, working and playing.  Moreover, I am committed that our employees, customers and families get the most out of their lives by having the best experience possible, and the most information to make choices that work for them. 

07.20.06

These are a few of my favorite things

Michelle’s Favorite Things:
(I do graphic design/visual stuff here in case you ever wondered who I was. The work that I do for the restaurant is visable, but I may remain unknown to most.)

DRINKS -

Matcha Latte with Vanilla Soy
hot when I’m cold & iced when I’m hot
If you are interested in learning more about this fun drink, then you can simply ask a Mäni’s Team Member next time you are in, or read a previous blog on our Matcha

Latte with % milk
whole milk is kind of overwhelming, skim doesn’t hold the flavor of the espresso & soy never quite did it for me in the context of a latte
Since I like my latte’s to have a very specific flavor/consistency, I order them with a mixture of whole & skim. Call me crazy!

BAKERY ITEMS -

Peach Turnover
I’ve mentioned this item before in a previous peach turnover blog posting, which you can check out. There is something so fantastically wonderful about this pastry & at certain points in the year, I’ve had it just about every morning for breakfast. Can you say addict?

Biscotti
According to a former Mäni’s Team Member who studied culinary arts, the prefix “bi” in BISCOTTI implies twice baked. She also informed me that the Biscotti from Mäni’s was only baked once & therefore was named incorrectly. However you want to slice it, this cookie is fantastic & I love it & I will eat it as long as it’s there to eat! 

RESTAURANT ITEMS -

Breakfast
1. Yam Breakfast Wrap
Carl and I talked about this fantastic breakfast option before it appeared on the menu. It’s a combination of foods that I happen to fancy - yams, avocado, eggs, tomatoes, black beans & salsa, wrapped in to a tasty bundle! The salsa is key to your full enjoyment of this item.
2. NEW Breakfast Parfait (heaven, thanks to fabulous Chef Jose!)
Light, fresh, healthy & so yummy!

Lunch & Dinner
1. Ultimate Veggie Burger
I can never finish the whole thing, so it may be nice to split with a friend. The patty is super plump & delicious & I would highly recommend getting chips & salsa as a side to compliment this yummy dish. Maybe extra salsa if you love condiments as much as I do (fyi - on a scale of 1-10, condiments are a really easy 10 for me).
2. Hummas Yogurt Wrap
This is one of my most favorite wraps, especially with tofu. Awesome flavor, great textures & what more can I say, it’s something that I enjoy!

If you have any favorites, we’d all love to hear!

07.20.06

Which is your favorite pie?

Which pie do you desire?  The Antique Cherry, Apple Maple Streusel, Apple, Peach Cranberry, Peach Crumble, Pecan, Strawberry Rhubarb, or Very Berry Crumble?  It is summer time which means it is pie time.  Keep our pies in mind when you are heading to your next summer picnic. 

Here is the deal. 

The idea was to write this really engaging and captivating post about our pies.  After all it is summer time and a perfect time for pie.  You know, with all the picnics and parties pies are perfect.  So, I sat down to write and immediately got writer’s block.  Arg!! 

This is what has come out so far: 
We have all these amazing pies.  They are sweetened with our fruit juice reduction.  Some are vegan and others are wheat free. 

Please help me out!  PLEASE?  What do you think about our pies?  (Write your comment below in the white space and click on Submit.)

Thank you for your help.  I appreciate it.

07.19.06

Investing In People

I’ve always known that good staff, make the customers’ visits.  But the question seemed to plague me....  How can a small independent bakery restaurant invest the money, create the time and have the engergy to properly recruit, train, coach and mange these people?

What we’ve learned is that it’s not about how difficult or expensive it is to do this, but about how determined and passionate we are about building the kind of company we believe in.  Well, Carl and myself are pretty passionate about our mission and vision for Mäni’s. 

So here’s our vision:  Our vision is to empower our employees, educate our customers, inspire everyone, and create the possibility of living a healthier lifestyle.

This vision has clarified our goals, particularly our current goals of having staff who share our vision, wanting to make a difference in their lives and in other people’s lives, such as our customers.

Today we began our second training class in as many months.  Pictured here are our new recruits:  Avery, Kit, Olivian, Gerry & Jordan (not pictured: Shemeka, Devin, and Pedro)

Our People & Culture Manager, Doug Miller, joined Mäni’s just a couple months ago and has guided the company in this direction.  Doug is also passionate about Mäni’s, our people and our future.  Say hello to Doug next time you visit us

07.18.06

Weight Management Lesson #1 - Part 2

Now, you need to calculate the number of calories that you consume on a daily basis.  By the end of this blog, you will have the information needed to attain your weight management goal (you will still need to do the work, though).  This will take a little work, but not as much as you think. 

Here’s what you need to do:

When you eat something just write down exactly what you ate (with as much detail as possible concerning quantity of items and time consumed).  To account for variation between different days, I recommend that you perform this process for at least 3 days (the more days that you collect information, the better you will understand your eating habits).  Be honest because the only person that you are deceiving is yourself.

Once you have your daily menu recorded (most importantly quantity of items), an easy way to figure out how many calories each item contains is to look them up at CalorieKing.  To figure out your average number of calories consumed daily, add up the calories for each day and divide them by the number of days you documented (remember 3 days should be the minimum number of days recorded).

In Part 3, we will compare your daily caloric expenditure to your daily calorie consumption.  This will show you why you are not losing the weight, gaining the weight, or maintaining the weight you desire.

07.17.06

Gift of Giving

Mäni’s participated in an a benefit event this weekend, with over one hundred other restaurants, wineries, and businesses.  The benefit was for the Los Angeles Free Clinic. 

It was an amazing experience we shared with our Chef, two of our lead Line Cooks, our three Experience Team Leaders, our People & Culture Manager, and myself and co-founder Larry Maiman.  We ran into some friends, long time customers, and enjoyed talking and spending time with all of the wonderful people who chose to donate their money for a wonderful cause. 

Giving is a wonderful way to be in touch with the world, and especially when we can make a difference at the same time.  Our committment to health and well being, of course, is what we are passionate about, and being in a space that was open to, and excited about that, was really amazing. 

Thanks to those of you, who have supported us for so many years, and enabled us to support organizations like the Los Angeles Free Clinic.  You are making a difference in the world in ways that you sometimes don’t know. 

Carl

07.14.06

We are looking for a few awesome Mäniacs...

We are looking for a few amazing people to come join our team.  Does this picture look like you or someone you know…

If you have visited us lately, you know that it is an exciting time here on Fairfax.  We just launched a hugely successful new menu.  We are fulfilling our mission of “Living a life of balance” with the 400 calorie menu section.  We are educating our employees, customers, and not yet customers about nurturing and supporting our bodies through nutrition. 

Basically, Mäni’s is “Good and Good for You.”

So, here is the latest Blog Only Special.  If you know someone that would make a great Mäniac team member, send them in on Monday between 3-5 PM for our hiring fair.  (519 S. Fairfax Ave.) We will be conducting interviews and hiring people to enter our extensive training program.  Oh, did I mention that we offer health benefits, paid vacation, and amazing employee discounts? 

If someone mentions your name, you are subscribed to our blog feed (through FeedBlitz - click here) and we hire them, we will give you a Mäni’s “It’s All About Summer” Gift Card. 

07.14.06

Soup Menu for July 17th thru the 30th

Monday - Chicken Soup
Chicken broth, Chicken Breast, Onions, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Chives, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Egg Noodles.

Tuesday - Miso Vegetable W/Tofu ( NEW )
Miso Broth, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Shitake Mushrooms, Nappa Cabbage, Silken Tofu, Fresh Chives.

Wednesday - Yellow Corn Bisque
Vegetable Stock, Celery, Onions, Yellow Corn, Sea Salt, Black Pepper.

Thursday - Summer Minestra ( NEW )
Vegetable Stock, Tomato, Carrots, Celery, Fennel, kale greens, Potato, White Beans, Tofu, Sea Salt, Black Pepper.

Friday - Tomato Lentil
Vegetable stock, Green lentils, Cilantro, Celery, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes, Garlic, Canola oil, Sea, Salt, Black Pepper.

Saturday - Light Tomato & Basil ( NEW )
Tomato Stock, Olive Oil, Onions, Celery, Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Basil, Sea Salt, Orange Zest.

Sunday - Cream of Asparagus
Vegetable stock, Onions, Celery, Potatoes, Asparagus, Spinach, Cashew Cream, Sea salt, Black Pepper, Tamari. 

07.11.06

Extravaganza For The Senses! Saturday, July 15, 2006

Mäni’s is proud to support the Los Angeles Free Clinic by participating in the Ninth Annual Extravaganza For The Senses, it’s annual fund raiser.  Mäni’s will be one of 30 restaurants and nearly 100 wineries donating their products and services for this wonderful evening. Click here to purchase tickets and more info on the event.  Help support our community and have fun by joining Mäni’s at:

20th Century Fox Studios Lot in Century City
Saturday, July 15, 2006
6-10 pm VIP | 7-10 pm General

Mäni’s on Fairfax would like to thank all the supporters of The Los Angeles Free Clinic including it’s hard working board of directors and especially Jonathan Chu from Buddha’s Belly.  Jonathan invited Mäni’s to participate while some of us Mäniacs were enjoying a wonderful dinner at Buddha’s Belly.

I’ll be there, as well as Carl, Doug, Sergio, Chef Jose, & Amanda.  Come to our table for some great salads, our Our Signature Turkey Chili,some wraps, including our new 400 Calorie menu item, ‘The New Mayan’ and of course our famous desserts!

If you haven’t tried our new lemon cake it will be included in the price of admission!  But get to our table early before all 2000 servings are gone!!

07.04.06

400 Calorie Menu Free Meals Go Out to 27 guests

Thank you to all our 27 customers who requested their free 2 for 1 400 calorie macronutrionally balanced menu item

Check your email on Wednesday July 5th for your 2 for 1 certificate.  Good at Mäni’s on Fairfax until expiration indicated on certificate. 

07.03.06

Soup Menu for July 3rd thru the 16th

Monday - Chicken Noodle
Chicken broth, Chicken Breast, Onions, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Chives, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Egg Noodles

Tuesday - Zucchini & Spinach Bisque
Vegetable Stock, Celery, Onions, Zucchini, Spinach, Garlic, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Cashew Cream.

Wednesday - Yellow Corn Bisque
Vegetable Stock, Celery, Onions, Yellow Corn, Sea Salt, Black Pepper.

Thursday - Chunky Vegetable W/Tofu (NEW)
Vegetable Stock, Onions, Carrots, Celery, Zucchini, Spinach, Tomatoes, Yellow Corn, Green Cabbage, Tofu, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Sea Salt, Garlic, Tamari.

Friday - Cream of Asparagus
Vegetable stock, Onions, Celery, Potatoes, Asparagus, Spinach, Cashew Cream, Sea salt, Black Pepper, Tamari.

Saturday - Tomato Lentil
Vegetable stock, Green lentils, Cilantro, Celery, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes, Garlic, Canola oil, Sea, Salt, Black pepper.

Sunday - Creamy Cauliflower Asparagus Soup (NEW)
Vegetable stock, Leeks, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Brown rice, Sea Salt, Lemon, Ground Sage, Ground Nutmeg, Black Pepper. Cashew Cream.